


It's a Puzzle

by tehta



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Acrostic, Back to Middle-Earth Month, Ents, F/M, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-23 20:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1577822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehta/pseuds/tehta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, what was Galadriel doing near the end of the First Age, as her kinsmen died and their realms fell into ruin?</p><p>(The answer is presented as a 250-word ficlet, which is also an acrostic -- in the sense of <i>a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words.</i> Since this is not a poem, it is sentences that matter here, not lines. Oh, and there are three phrases to be found: a preliminary clue, and two snarky solutions.</p><p>Of course, not everyone likes puzzles. Those who do not can still enjoy the ficlet -- and then go on to read the solutions in the endnotes of Chapter Two.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ent-speech

Faint birdsong punctuated the silence as Galadriel and Celeborn waited for the Ent’s answer, gradually losing hope that it would come before the end of Arda.

“I am... quite aware,” the Tree-Shepherd said at last, “of the intrinsic... hastiness... of your people, so I shall... do my best.. to keep my speech brief… and terse, as well as… concise, pithy, and… elliptical.” Fir-needles rained down around the Elves as he preened his green crown, obviously proud of this collection of synonyms. “Thus, I must... inform you... tree-friend... Teleporno…”

His words grew so infrequent that Celeborn made an impatient gesture; Galadriel laid a hand on his arm to prevent him from saying something undiplomatic.

“And you, shining... and noble... lady,” the Ent continued, oblivious to their shared and growing frustration, “that I consider it... most unwise...”

Now that was a great disappointment, thought Galadriel. Defenses were a vital aspect of any hidden realm, and enlisting the help of the trees themselves would have allowed them to surround all of Taur-in-Duinath with a perimeter almost as secure as Melian’s Girdle. Luckily, the Ent’s ponderous, laconic ways made her feel quite confident that he would not blab. (Another important, if often ignored, aspect of a hidden realm was that it should remain a secret, rather than a topic of common gossip like the “hidden” cities of Findarato and Turukano.)

Suddenly, the Ent’s sonorous voice arose again, scattering her thoughts with its power.

“To reject,” he said evenly, “such an astute... and prudent... plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Galadriel’s insignificance throughout much of the First Age has always struck me as more than a little bizarre, considering her canonical ambition and later accomplishments. Being mentored by Melian seems in character, but apart from that… if all she was doing was being a houseguest in Doriath and Nargothrond, couldn’t she have done something productive when her siblings and her people fell, one by one? So, I have developed the headcanon that she and Celeborn had a realm of their own, one more secret even than Turgon’s, and I have set it in Taur-im-Duinath, the forest with the canonical description of NOTHING GOING ON HERE PLEASE IGNORE, which seems like exactly the right sort of description for a *successfully* concealed realm. As for the Entish element: In LotR, Treebeard clearly knows Galadriel and Celeborn of old.
> 
> (Oh, and overall this piece was written for the B2MeM 2014 prompt, "Write or create art about a place or group that is beginning its rise in importance.”)


	2. Pollination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also, why did Galadriel depart for the West ahead of her husband?
> 
> (This double-drabble was written for the first person who solved the puzzle when it was first made public, with_rainfall on Livejournal, who requested an answer to the above question. It is not -- I repeat, it is NOT -- any sort of puzzle. Phew.)

Galadriel was brushing her hair at her vanity table when Celeborn walked in and sat down at his. She heard the clink of removed braid-clasps.

“Well,” Celeborn said eventually. “It was nice to see Treebeard again, if only briefly.”

“Yes!” Galadriel smiled at this good, novel topic. “Shame that he is so unhappy, though.”

“He misses Fimbrethil.”

“Yes, evidently. Although… It is amusing, is it not? Remember how he used to grumble about her repetitive anecdotes?”

“Well, they did take a day or three to tell... Which might be too much even for an Ent, on the thousandth telling. Also… Did he not complain that they had both lost interest in… pollination?”

“Yes. But then, they had been married for a long time.”

Their eyes met. Galadriel saw Celeborn’s widen, and looked away quickly.

“Have you,” she said, “heard the poems he has written in her absence? They are rather fervent.” She set down her brush. “You know, Cirdan offered me a berth on the next boat to Valinor. I believe I shall accept.”

“I cannot possibly leave now. The woods--”

“I know.”

She knew she would not have to explain further. They had been married for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, the solution to the acrostic of the first chapter!
> 
> As I mentioned, it is all about the sentences. Taking the first letter of each spells out the first phrase, a clue: "FIFTH AND LAST."  
> This is not a reference to Galadriel's place in the Fingolfinian birth order (well... perhaps a little...), but it suggests that the actual solutions may be found by looking at the FIFTH word of each sentence, and the LAST.
> 
>  
> 
> Spoiler Alert...
> 
>  
> 
> As a reminder, the question was: _So, what was Galadriel doing near the end of the First Age, as her kinsmen died and their realms fell into ruin?_
> 
> The first answer, constructed using the first letters of the fifth word of each sentence, is "STAYING ALIVE."
> 
> The second answer, constructed using the last letter of each sentence, is "ALSO, CELEBORN."
> 
> ...and that is all, folks!


End file.
